1) How big is the clean energy business globally?
All together, solar PV, wind and biofuel markets expanded by 31 percent last year to $246 billion globally, according to Clean Edge’s 11th annual edition of Clean Energy Trends 2011, a wrapup of key green-energy indicators. The expansion caps a five-year run during which these markets have grown by roughly a third each year.

2) Which two towns now on the Iditarod Sled Dog Race trail are powered with wind power and what is the third Iditarod checkpoint that soon will be?
Nome and Unalakleet are powered now with wind and Shaktoolik soon will be. Unalakleet has 6 Northwind100 turbines, which since November 2009 have generated nearly 2 million kilowatt hours of electricity and kept the town from having to burn more than 150,000 gallons of diesel. Nome has 18 Entegrity EW-50 turbines installed on Banner Peak in 2008. Learn more…

3) What uses more total energy in the U.S. – buildings or transportation?Buildings! Buildings accounted for 39.9% of total energy use in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Energy statistics. Transportation used only 28%.

4) What is the biggest source of renewable energy in use today in Alaska?
Hydropower is the largest supplier of energy currently. It provides 21% of Alaska’s electrical power.

5) 32 million barrels of oil is enough to supply world demand for how long?
About 9 hours. In 2010, global demand for oil averaged 87.8 million barrels/day, according to the International Energy Agency

6) What is the average yearly energy savings of homes that have participated in the Alaska Home Energy Rebate Program? Just over $1,500 (This figure from 2010 is based on a survey of 6,998 homes that had participated in the program).

7)Up to how much of their income do rural Alaskans spend on energy?
In Alaska, nearly 80% of rural communities are dependent on diesel fuel for their primary energy needs. The poorest Alaskan households spend up to 47% of their income on energy, more than five times their urban neighbors. (These figures are from a 2012 report by Commonwealth North).